


complicated script

by maureenbrown



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Coffee Shops, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, after the war, also i dont really know what happened with harry and draco theyre mentioned briefly, there's past jily and lucius/narcissa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8688718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maureenbrown/pseuds/maureenbrown
Summary: They reunite per chance. Lily’s always loved vintage book stores, and Narcissa has always taken a liking to the elegant script inside the writings.





	

They reunite per chance. Lily’s always loved vintage book stores, and Narcissa has always taken a liking to the elegant script inside the writings. 

…

“Never thought I’d see you here.” A somewhat cool, but collected voice picks up, and Narcissa pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her lips parted in slight surprise. 

Her gray eyes meet a warm pair of green ones, her irises startling. Her red hair is combed neatly, though it remains a bit frizzy, though parts are grayer, probably from stress more than age. Freckles splash over her nose and cheeks, and her lips are a plush rose color, pursed as her head is cocked towards the side. 

Narcissa’s heart pounds, subconsciously moving one hand down to the name coiled around her wrist. Her breath catches in her throat dramatically, and her vision swims for a startling moment until Lily pops her hip to the side, placing a hand on top of her floral-pattered dress, a tiny smile playing on her lips. 

“It’s been a while.” Narcissa manages, flabbergasted.

Lily sniffs and nods—a short jut of her chin, only. “You could say that.” She says, plopping her stack of frayed books down onto the vintage counter, ringing the bell for effect despite Narcissa standing there, bony and uptight looking as always, save for her rejuvenated expression. 

“So, mind telling me how you’ve been over these books? I’m afraid I don’t have any galleons to pay with—“ 

Narcissa manages a stiff laugh, tilting her head up in her signature and peculiar holier-than-thou Malfoy look. “Of course. We seem to have a lot to catch up on.” 

…

They end up discussing over a coffee shop during Narcissa’s break which Lily patiently waits for (no, she doesn’t really mean to scare away the customers, just badger them with questions on their literature selections). 

Lily slurps her coffee loudly, and Narcissa can’t help but crack a smile at that.

“What?” Lily asks when she lifts her head. Her smile is back, much gentler than James’, but it still holds a level of confidence that can’t be tarried with. A layer of foam covers her upper lip.

“Nothing, you just.. You have something here.” Narcissa gestures to her own, lightly tapping it.

“Here?” Lily asks, pushing her sleeve away to wipe her mouth with it, instead smearing the contents across her cheek. 

Narcissa narrowly lets out another giggle. “No, here.” She points to her left cheek now. 

Lily lifts her hand, her sleeve now pulled over her hand. Narcissa quickly reaches out on instinct, catching her wrist carefully. “Wait, you’ll stain your blouse.” She says, before deftly cupping her cheek and swiping the remnants of the caffeine away, a couple fingers still entwined around her wrist. 

In the process, Lily’s sleeve gets nudged down so that it hangs loosely by her elbow, simply gazing at Narcissa. However, she gets preoccupied by her name in her decadent, swirling handwriting littered on her pale skin.

No matter how many times she’d seen her soulmate mark on her starkly, it still causes her heart to flutter every time. Now, they’re just beating around the bush about the fact even more.

“Oh, blimey. I normally wear long sleeves, it’s not that warm here—“Lily recovers, but Narcissa drops her hand reluctantly and folds it back in her own lap.

“No need to worry. I don’t really cover mine anymore.” Narcissa assures, and Lily’s eyes wander down to her stomach, as it’s the lowest the table will dip down, still hiding her wrist and her own name from view.

“How’s James?” She asks curtly and politely, lifting her hand finally to take another sip of her latte, not a trace of bitterness in her tone.

A fond smile forms on Lily’s lips, and she shrugs, but answers. “He’s doing well. We split after the war, which made Harry upset after all, but there’s no bad blood between us.” She says passively, like she’d reflected on an old friend instead of her ex-husband. 

Narcissa does her best not to seem appalled, though her eyes widen somewhat. “I never would’ve thought.” 

“Yeah, well, it happened. We still meet every week, and I love him very much.”

“Just not romantically.” Narcissa reads between the lines, and Lily nods, letting out a mildly embarrassed laugh. 

“What about you and Lucius?” Lily inquires after sloshing her coffee around daintily in her cup, taking a sip as she awaits her answer.

“Oh, we got divorced after the war as well. It was all in due time.” Narcissa says, and Lily’s kind enough to nod in understanding.

“I was always wondering when you were going to move on from him. He was always such a snot.” Lily says articulately, and it surprises Narcissa so much she lets out a dainty laugh. It causes the other’s nose to scrunch up cutely, as if she’s pleased and amused at the gesture, until it’s contained.

“Remind me why we lost contact again? I’ve…” Lily trails off, as if coming to a realization, but she finishes her sentence just as Narcissa understands what she was meaning to say.

“I’ve missed you.” She completes, and Narcissa gives a wry smile before avoiding her gaze, absently tracing her name on the inside of her wrist which she’d done so many times by heart. 

“I know. I thought you wouldn’t have wanted to speak with me again, after the war. Even before, when I associated myself with all of the…” Narcissa abruptly stops talking, the word caught in her throat, but Lily understands the gist anyways.

“I’ve always been forgiving, you know that.” Lily replies gently, as if she knows Narcissa had ulterior motives to keep from conversation.

“Yes, I know. Maybe I was…” 

“Scared?” Lily inquires when Narcissa trails off yet again, reaching out to hold her palm open, offering it to her. Her sleeve has slid down once again to reveal her soulmate—Narcissa—on her wrist.

Narcissa pauses, curling her fingers in her lap anxiously. If her parents could see her now, holding hands with a muggle born… It’s a good thing she’d abandoned that past long ago.

She slips her hand into Lily’s, feeling the brusque feel to it, the calloused palm pressing against her delicate skin. “Yes, I suppose so.” She responds, her voice thankfully level.

Lily smiles genuinely across the table, turning their fingers over so that she can interlace them, the gesture sweet and almost adolescent, like the way they used to link pinkies as they drilled through Potions notes. 

“Well, don’t be afraid anymore. I want you back in my life.” Lily says, her somewhat teasing tone back, but her green eyes convey her meaning.

“I won’t leave this time.” Narcissa promises with little hesitation. After all, those words are much simpler than her complicated script, littered and glittering on Lily’s forearm.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is @sapphicmaia. this was written for @ginnys, who gave me the brilliant idea of narcissa/lily !!! :)) love her


End file.
